The Hindu Business Line : 4-D, 3-B-C, Cue-2-Do and 1 Stone

"YOU can't stop the waves but you can learn to surf." With this quote of Jon Kabat-Zinn begins Oasis in the Overwhelm by Millie Grenough from Beaver Hill Press (www.beaverhillpress.com) .

It was `a near-death accident' that made Millie alter a fast-paced life, one learns from her narrative. During convalescence, she realised that she would do practical things that could be done every day, actions that wouldn't interfere with her life, "but that might even make it easier and more enjoyable."

Techniques that Millie has developed as a result, and compiled in Oasis, meet several criteria such as being simple and easy, immediately effective and inexpensive, useful and enjoyable. Most important, the strategies read like SMS!

The first, named 4-D, is about stretching the body in four directions, to give it a break and `rinse off your mind.' Millie provides easy-to-follow instructions that involve standing, breathing, making `space for your spine,' allowing arms to `hang down loosely,' and letting `gravity do its job.' There are imaginative variations such as `foot 4-D' to stretch out legs south-east-west-north under the boardroom table when bored; `hand 4-D' "also under the table, before settling on the details of a contract with tough clients"; and `head-and-shoulders 4-D' when stuck in traffic.

The second technique, 3-B-C, is about `three-breath-countdown' to `calm your mind.' A `preventive' version of this starts with an inhale `to bring in calmness immediately,' while the `emergency' type begins with initial exhale to dispel `extreme emotions.'

The book cites Gestalt therapist Fritz Perls, who said, "Fear is excitement without breath." Preventive 3-B-Cs are pleasurable workouts, cheers Millie. "They strengthen your emotional muscles to be able to respond with calmness rather than to react with impulsiveness."

Cue-2-Do is the third strategy, advising the use of aches and pains as cues.

First, recognise your unique distress signals, such as: dull throbbing in the temple, cold sweat in the palms, churning of the stomach, tightening of the throat, quickening heartbeat, and shallow breaths.

Next, answer the following five questions: "What is my cue right now? What is that cue signalling: what channel am I on? What's the current drama on that channel? Is there anything I can do and want to do right now about the situation? And what action is best for me right now?" Millie explains through many examples how these questions help you identify your `default modes' of emotion, such as worry or anger.

Last is the `1 Stone' strategy that the author learned from Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese monk. This is the simplest and the most important of techniques, says Millie, because "1 Stone can give you an immediate oasis, wherever you may be."

She elucidates the technique through a graceful `how-to' and simple language. Thus, after 10 breaths with a stone "or any object of comfort in the palm of your hand," you are through "the ultimate rinse cycle," despite keeping eyes open not only to notice "the variations in the stone's colour and texture" but also to be in "the here-and-now-reality." A technique that you can put in your pocket and carry to wherever you go!

Among the wise quotes at the end of the book are: "Worrying is like paying interest on a loan that may never come due," of Mark Twain; and "Breathing in, I calm my body. Breathing out, I smile," of Hanh. What a whiff of fresh air, these lines are, even as we live in "a chronic heightened state of alertness accompanied by an increased sense of helplessness," as Millie writes, citing medical research.

Her book, therefore, comes as `a clear stream of reason' in `the dreary desert sand of dead habit,' as in Rabindranath Tagore's Gitanjali. "60-second strategies for balance in a busy world," if only you have time to pause for a minute!

SayCheek@TheHindu.co.in

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